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Single Idea 4895

[from 'What Mary Didn't Know' by Frank Jackson, in 15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 5. Qualia / a. Nature of qualia ]

Full Idea

Jackson seems to imply that it isn't fair that all physicalist knowledge can be written down, but not all dualist knowledge can be.

Gist of Idea

Is it unfair that physicalist knowledge can be written down, but dualist knowledge can't be

Source

comment on Frank Jackson (What Mary Didn't Know [1986]) by John Perry - Knowledge, Possibility and Consciousness §7.5

Book Reference

Perry,John: 'Knowledge, Possibility and Consciousness' [MIT 2001], p.166


A Reaction

This pinpoints a problem for the 'Mary' example - that Mary's new sight of colour is claimed as 'knowledge', and yet the whole point is that it cannot be expressed in propositions (which seems to leave it as 'procedural' or 'acquaintance' knowledge).